


as sure as bones, as deep as blood

by mintpearlvoice



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Murder, Established Relationship, Evil Audrey (Disney: Descendants), Evil Plans, F/F, F/M, Fae Mal (Disney), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Musical References, Paparazzi, Past Abuse, Poisoning, Polyamory, Post-Canon, United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, dramatic last-minute rescues, the power of True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-08-13 10:13:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 15,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20172550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mintpearlvoice/pseuds/mintpearlvoice
Summary: Audrey has a plan to destroy Mal once and for all. It's up to the other VKs to save the day... if they can save themselves from Audrey's most evil scheme yet.





	1. ready as i'll ever be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey has the upper hand over Mal... who doesn't have the best poker face.

Mal was cold. This had been normal on the Isle of the Lost, where there was never enough electricity for heaters and the roofs leaked and every pair of socks had at least one hole. But she’d gotten used to waking up in Auradon, with Ben’s arm around her shoulders and Evie curled against her side, a blanket over all three of them.

So the fact that she was shivering? That she could hear water dripping nearby, and that her bathrobe was gone? This wasn’t normal. Steady on, Mal. Show no fear. She kept her eyes closed, her breathing steady, as if she still slept.

A gloved fingertip dragged down her face. It was all she could do not to flinch.

“Wakey, wakey, pretty princess.”

She knew that voice- and then a slap, harder than anyone except Uma or her mother had ever dared to hit her, that shocked her eyes open.

Her surroundings: a cave. She was shackled to the cave walls, water lapping at her ankles. Somewhere, distantly, the ocean roared. And she couldn’t reach her magic.

But all that paled in comparison compared to the realization of who was standing in front of her. Well, hovering in front of her, haloed in magenta light and smoke.

“Audrey? What happened to I’m sorry and we’re friends now?” Mal sputtered.

She smirked, standing on the water’s rippling surface. “I showed you what you wanted to see. Just like you’ve been showing all of Auradon what they want to see. Turnabout is fair play. You took everything away from me, so I swore I wouldn’t stop until I took everything away from you. This is just the culmination of my plan.”

Mal tugged at the shackles, hoping to feel the ethereal senses her magic allowed, the instinctive knowledge of other spells and casters in the area. She was no mere faerie- the iron alone wouldn’t be able to blind her like this. If she could just reach deep enough to get it back…

Electricity scythed through her body, icemelt merciless. She couldn’t stop herself from screaming, even as Audrey laughed. “You think being a demigod makes you invincible? Well, since I’m not invited to any parties anymore, I have nothing to do but sit and read. I’ve learned a lot, including how to brew the potion that made Lord Hercules helpless once upon a time.”

The last thing Mal wanted to do was negotiate with Audrey. But “take everything away from you…” her friends, the people she cared about, were all that truly mattered to her. She couldn’t let anything happen to them. “Audrey, please. Whatever you want… anything I can give you, anything that’s within my power to give you, you can have. I’ll do anything. I’ll give up the throne. Just please don’t hurt the people I love.” She’d been fighting hard to keep humiliating tears out of her eyes, but maybe it was better to lose. To let a tear or two roll down her face; to satisfy Audrey with how vulnerable and helpless she apparently was.

For a second, Audrey tilted her perfect head, pursing her lips. Then she burst into almost innocent giggles. “Oh, Mal. For a VK, you really are naïve. All I want is for you to suffer just as much as I have. For you to die alone, abandoned, and in pain, and knowing there’s nothing you can do to protect anyone you care about.”

From the glint in her eyes, Mal could tell Audrey was serious. There would be no school dance, no tea party, after all this was over. It was do or die. 

Audrey glanced at the water, at the cave walls, before smiling up at Mal. “So anyway- we’re underneath the Isle of the Lost, and guess what? It’s about to be the highest tide of the entire year. I give it less than a day, maybe until sunset tonight, before you drown.”

Mal wanted to protest. To spit threats. To yell something like “You won’t get away with this!” But she clenched her jaw and tossed her violet hair, unwilling to give Audrey the satisfaction of a single word.

Audrey headed towards the cave entrance in a swirl of gauzy pink-and-blue gown. Suddenly, she turned around. “Oh, wait. I almost forgot the finishing touch. Hmm…” She peered at Mal for a moment, then snapped her fingers. Magenta smoke engulfed her. When it faded, Mal was staring back at a flawless copy of herself. 

“Ta-da! How do I look?” Mal’s bathrobe, which had been draped over a rock, floated over to Audrey. She put it on and twirled in a way Mal never would. “One last thing, princess. Before I go, which of your friends should I make my first project?” She floated back to Mal and stroked her hair. As if they were friends. As if being touched by her didn’t want to make Mal throw up.

“Maybe Jay?” Audrey cooed into Mal’s ear.

No matter how Audrey tried to stage his death, Jay was strong, fast, clever. He’d figure out something was wrong and get out of danger ASAP.

“Or Evie?”

People thought Evie was just a pretty face, but she was a witch and an alchemist. And her skills with a sword were equal to her knack for spells.

“Or what about… Carlos?”

At that, Mal couldn’t stop a gasp from escaping her lips. Carlos was fast and agile and understood tech, and he had a talking dog BFF… but he had literally zero magic, and all his muscle was the “run away, climb things to run away faster” kind. In a one-on-one fight, he would be merciful, fearless- and totally doomed.

“Well, I’ve got my first target, then,” Audrey said, patting Mal on the head. “And don’t worry, your precious Ben will be fine. Once he’s alone in the world, I’ll have him all for myself.” She smirked with her perfect copy of Mal’s face and blew a kiss. “TTFN!” – and vanished in a puff of cotton-candy-smoke.

Alone at last, Mal gave voice to her rage. An inhuman growl echoed off stone walls as her eyes flashed green. Fuck, this hurt. At least she could shift some of the weight onto her tiptoes, ease the dull ache in her shoulders a little. She could meditate to conserve body heat and slow her heart rate. Well, once she caught her breath.

Because she wasn’t going to panic and hyperventilate, wasn’t going to let her heartbeat race the way it wanted to, was starting to. She was the queen of two kingdoms. She’d had two perfect weddings. And the people who loved her were too smart to let her die here.

They’d know Audrey was an impostor, and they wouldn’t think Mal had just become more polite and considerate all of a sudden. Right?

The water was only lapping at her ankles. Still, Mal struggled to breathe.


	2. let me make you proud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we flash back to what happened before audrey's evil scheme set into motion, and learn a little more about what she's got planned...

Last night:

“This is bullshit.” Mal groaned, flinging her arms onto the table. They were in the solarium of his chateau, a room with grand windows, white marble furniture, and hanging plants. And up until five minutes ago, he’d been coaching Mal on protocol for banqueting with international diplomats. But she’d gotten a few wrong answers in a row, and now she looked like she was going to cry.

“Mal, you’re the protector of Auradon. Everyone loves you. You’re going to be an incredible queen,” Ben said soothingly.

“They love me because I’ve never had to appear in public without you by my side to coach me. They love me because they assume I already know all of this stuff! Even a spell to help with memorization just gives me a headache.” She picked up a book at random. Its cover said THE ART OF THE TABLE: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO FINE DINING. “For instance- how am I supposed to know what fork to use for a lobster? I didn’t spend my childhood attending banquets, I grew up dumpster diving for Auradon’s scraps! You’re a good king, Ben. I can’t stand the idea of my failures reflecting badly on you.” She chucked the book across the room. It almost hit a monstera.

“And you’re not going to fail. You just need a little more time.” He meant it, too. Mal was a genius. If she could handle commanding an army, she could absolutely learn the twenty-nine different types of spoons.

Mal flopped forward. “I don’t think I can do this,” she said, voice muffled by her arms.

Outside, the birds were singing. It was only two in the afternoon. Sure, he’d hoped that Mal would have the rest of the day to feel comfortable with what she needed to know, but that wasn’t happening.

He drew close to her, rested a hand on the back of her chair. “Okay. No more studying today. C’mon.”

What he wanted to say was something about how smart she was, how nothing as simple as forks could defeat her. But Mal could talk herself out of believing his compliments way too often. You see the good in everyone, she’d mumble, hunching her shoulders. Even when there’s none. Or, ‘how do I know you’re not just saying that to make me feel better?’

If someone said something unkind when she was already freaked out, she’d spiral in private, run endless magical diagnostics and pace the castle: frantic, incoherent, glowing green eyes shimmering with tears. “I’m not sure why you’re in love with me unless I’ve still got you under a spell.”

He could never figure out how to calm Mal down when she got like this. Luckily, it wasn’t a situation he had to handle alone. “You know what? Let’s go see Evie.”

Evie had recently taken over the chateau’s guest cottage, after turning her own mini-palace into housing for VKs who needed off-island medical treatment. She was sitting in a deck chair, a sunhat and oversized vintage sunglasses shading her perfect face; pulled off the latter to reveal a concerned expression. “Hey, baby. You all right?”

Mal practically fell into her arms with an exaggerated groan of exhaustion. “Eves, I hate learning royal etiquette. I feel like my brain is going to explode.”

“Okay. So we’re going to take the rest of the day off and do face masks. I can teach you something fun, like blending eyeshadow. Ben, you’re down to model, yeah?

On Auradon, guys were allowed to wear preppy pastels, but anything beyond that? No way. It was just one more meaningless rule that the VKs knew better than to care about, that he’d encourage people to break when he truly became king and not just king-to-be.

Within less than an hour, Mal was leaning against Evie on the living room couch as Ben practiced braiding her hair. Then she’d rested her head in Evie’s lap for scritches, and now she was draped across them both, fast asleep as Ben played with her braids, figuring out if he could redo them more neatly.

Her eyes had drifted closed, and she let out a low rumble that was the draconic equivalent of a purr.

Evie raised an eyebrow. “Can you believe how adorable our little dragonfae murder machine is right now?”

“I can’t even,” he whispered back, grinning, and reached to hold Evie’s hand.

“Hey,” Mal complained without opening her eyes. “Less talking, more scritches?”

“How about kisses,” Evie teased, leaning over her.

Mal tugged her closer by the front of her shirt, and when Ben’s brain came back online it was to notice that, okay, lap full of pretty girls.

Later, they were back at the castle, having made their way through face masks, a fruit platter, and the romance novel Evie was reading. (She always read the best sentences out loud; books that had all their pages, like food without dirt, was an Auradon thing.) That was when Jay and Carlos came back from their latest trip to the Isle.

Mal sat up, instantly alert. “Hey. You guys okay?”

“We ran into our parents,” Jay said tersely.

“I’m fine,” Carlos answered, trembling. “I was thinking maybe I should study for my university entrance exams- although I haven’t cleaned my room today, there’s something I should probably clean.” His gaze darted around the blue-and-gold bedroom as he shifted from foot to foot. “I’m going to be in the lab. There’s something I should be working on, I’m sure there is.”

Ben took a book about the various ranks of nobility out of his backpack. “How about helping me make flash cards for Mal?”

Carlos was easier to read than Mal, and way easier to help get unstuck from panic mode. Give him space. No sudden movements. Get him talking about something he loves, like his 3D printing projects or his Home for Lost Boys, (he’s figured out how to mass-produce enough protection tunes for all the guards, the flu that’s been going around has gotten better) and then just sit with him and keep him company.

That meant bookmarking royal etiquette tomes to figure out what Evie, Carlos, and Jay needed to put on the flash cards they were making for Mal.

“Carlos, those flash cards you’re writing out look great,” Ben said.

He breathed out deep, shoulders falling down from around his ears.

“Thanks.” Like he’d remembered where he was: not on the Isle, subject to the whims of villains and henchmen alike, but safe in his own castle with people who cared about him.

Jay would always act stoic until he knew everyone else was okay, then go on a long run or vanish into the gym. Until he felt like he’d punished himself for failing to protect the people he cared about.

Mal unzipped her dress, let it fall around her feet in a puddle of lavender silk and chiffon. (They were all so casual about changing clothes around each other, but Ben always had to consciously keep himself from staring- to act like he wasn’t trying to memorize every swell of muscle, every soft curve.)

By the time he looked again, she’d started lacing up her combat leathers. “Jay. Spar with me?”

“Yeah,” he said, fists unclenching.

They’d fight with staves or fists or blunted swords. Mal blocked every blow, dodged in a whirl of violet ringlets and low laughter. Until she could get a hidden dagger to his throat or flip him to the floor and say something like: “Talk to me, Jay. You’re safe. What’s wrong? “

They always came back bruised and exhausted and giggling, their arms around each other’s shoulders, endorphin-drunk. Eyes as bright as the gold decorations on the palace walls.

And ravenous- not just for dinner, but for Carlos and Evie and lucky him, Ben...

Everyone fell asleep about halfway through the movie they tried to watch afterwards. Carlos at the foot of the bed, curled up with Dude; Evie splayed out, Jay hugging her like ivy on a castle turret. And Mal in his arms, drifting slowly into sleep, letting her guard down one fragment at a time.

“Ben?” she mumbled. 

“Yeah?”

“Do you really think I’ll be able to learn it? All the stuff I have to memorize to be a good queen?”

Usually, Mal protected him. Whether it was from princesses-gone-bad, overeager paparazzi, or ice monsters, she had his back. The fact that he could comfort her in this quiet moment of vulnerability… it meant everything to him.

“I know so.”

She nodded and nestled deep into his arms. He stayed awake for a little while, just breathing her scent, feeling the new marks she’d left on his skin.

Mal was the dragon of his wildest nightmares and the heroine who could save him every time. He was so lucky to have her in his life. To have them all.

Ben woke up alone to the sound of breakfast being made. Evie, Carlos, and Jay were in the kitchen. He smelled pancakes at once.

The back door opened, and Mal wandered in with her bathrobe tied around her waist, graceful as a dandelion seed.

“Morning, Ben,” she sang, kissing his cheek. She looked like she was skipping on air, with none of yesterday’s self-doubt in her eyes. It felt good to see her happy.

“Are you feeling less nervous about the court etiquette, then?”

“I think I just had to believe in myself. There’s nothing I can’t handle as Auradon’s queen.”

“Mal, set the table while we finish this batch?” Jay called from the stove.

Audrey, magically disguised as Mal, examined the scene. Ben and the VKs were cooking themselves. That had to mean they’d sent away all the maids from the chateau. And the cook. Why? What had the Isle rifraff dragged Ben into- what did they have to hide? Sooner or later, she’d find out.

“Mm-hmm. And- I can set it for a fancy breakfast with placards. Watch me,” she said cheerfully before setting a perfect table. Finally, something she knew how to do and Mal didn’t.

“Wow, Mal, this looks great. I guess the flash cards we made you really helped,” Jay said with a grin.

“Super helpful,” Audrey said with one of Mal’s painfully genuine serious expressions. God, Mal was so uncultured that she still needed flash cards for court etiquette? How pathetic. Audrey would be a better queen than her without even trying.

This was what no one had noticed: Audrey as Mal pulling out a tiny pink glass bottle she wore on a woven cord around her neck. A single glittery drop fell onto her finger; she smeared it across the rim of Carlos’s glass, a ring of sound hovering just below the edge of hearing.

She filled all the glasses with orange juice, pouring elegantly. Carlos’s last. For a moment, the shape of a magenta skull shimmered in the liquid. It vanished long before anyone saw.


	3. it's good versus evil, it's day against night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey's plan to poison Carlos finally pays off.

After none of the universities she applied to accepted her- turned out that attempted mass murder didn’t cancel out your family’s ability to donate a new building’s cost to the school- Audrey had gone to her family’s oldest property, a castle overgrown with ivy and roses. It had fallen in a long-ago battle, and no one had walked there since. But she’d used magic to turn its drafty halls into a cozy pink nook.

The gardens were wild and forgotten. But, just like her, all they’d needed was someone who cared. Using her stolen spellbooks, she’d created new types of rare and magical plants. Roses with flesh-eating thorns, apples that grew poisoned, and beautiful flowers with sweet nectar that led to a slow and horrible death.

Most of the deadliest poisons were bitter, or stung the throat of someone eating them. And all known poisons could be traced by Auradon’s doctors. Her poisons, though? They were entirely unique and magical, just like her. She couldn’t wait until the one she’d used started working. Why were Mal’s friends here, anyway?

Being attracted to one Villain Kid? Audrey could forgive her Benny-Boo for falling to Mal’s magic and feminine wiles. That girl was devious. But how had she persuaded him to tolerate her ragamuffin friends?

Officially, it seemed, they were his council. His advisors. And they helped him do a lot of virtual meetings. 

As Audrey-as-Mal sat beside him in the conference room, she fumed inwardly at their lack of incompetence. How were Isle kids this smart?

Jay, for instance, seemed to remember the name of every dignitary he’d ever spoken to, and even their secretaries.

Ben would say something like, “Carlos, give me the figure on how many barges of food are shipped to the Isle per month?”

Carlos gave him a number without even glancing down at his notes.

“And the percentage of that fit for human consumption…”

This time, he glanced- but he seemed to have the page number of the statistic memorized. “Seventy-two point six.”

“And as Mal was saying in our last meeting…” Ben prompted.

Shit. What had Mal been saying in their last meeting?

“Umm,” Audrey said, looking down and biting her lip the way she imagined Mal would. “I’m sorry, I just have a really bad headache…”

“Mood,” Carlos muttered, rubbing his temples. “I think something’s going around… is anyone else warm? Cause I’m, like, really warm right now.” He unbuttoned his black and white suit jacket. (Hopefully that was the poison starting to work.)

Evie pressed a page of perfectly written notes into her hands. Okay. Water-borne disease rates. “The rate at which disease spreads on the Island could contribute to a superbug,” she said with poise in her voice, skimming the page. “Even if we can’t begin evacuation proceedings right away, we need to start sending in vaccinations.”

“I’ll make a note of that,” the Arendelle chatelain on the other end of the video call muttered, jotting something down on a tablet. “Now, speaking of evacuations. The most recent census by an independent body has shown the under-13 population of the Isle down an inexplicable fifteen percent. Many of the children unaccounted for were still awaiting their transfer paperwork and immigration licences.”

Audrey looked at Ben, at Mal’s friends. They looked back at her just as blankly, like: say something. Say anything.

She’d tried so hard to read Mal’s mind, to glean all her secrets. Even unconscious and depowered, though, Mal still had natural mental defenses. Her will was as strong as a dragon’s scales. So she’d had to go off public information: the memories of non-magical classmates like Lonnie, security camera footage, and so on. 

Carlos took off his jacket. He swallowed, rolled up the sleeves of his red ombre dress shirt. The poison was starting to kick in for sure.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, because there was nothing else she could say. “Whatever the reason for this discrepancy, I had nothing to do with it.”

“All right. I’d appreciate you keeping an eye out, though.”

“Of course.”

He ended the video call, and not more than a second later, everyone exploded into laughter and talking.

Carlos, beaming: “Mal, that was genius!”

Jay, clapping her on the shoulder: “You were completely fucking perfect.”

Evie: “That wide-eyed innocence? You almost look like an AK! You totally sold it.”

And “I’m so proud of you,” Ben said, his smile just as soft as she remembered.

So they’d been evacuating the dirty, poor, disease-ridden children of the Isle without paperwork? Right under the noses of the government they were supposed to be a part of? Eww. Poor Ben. He’d been totally brainwashed by these baddies. 

“You know me, I’m a fabulous liar. Rotten to the core,” she said, tossing her hair. Whatever that last bit meant. It seemed to be some sort of inside joke among Mal’s clique.

“Hell yeah!” Jay said with a laugh.

“Hey, guys,” Carlos said hesitantly. “I feel kind of…” Suddenly he doubled over, coughing. He clutched his chest in confusion, like: where did this come from? Why do I feel like shit all of a sudden?

She’d lured a few peasants that no one would miss to her castle, people with no family or who were new to the area and hadn’t made friends yet. The symptoms of this poison always followed the same progression.

First they’d start feeling warm, most of them stripping off their clothing, accusing Audrey of turning the heat up, of trying to roast them alive. They’d start coughing and then panicking from lack of air. And then the muscle spasms and the hallucinations. She always found it fascinating to peer into their minds, to see what they were envisioning as they sweated and gasped and twitched towards death. Most people had boring nightmares: being crushed under avalanches or burned alive.

Carlos, though? His mind was probably full of nightmares already.

He slipped from his chair and ended up kneeling on the floor. At once, Evie and Jay were at his side.

Jay put an arm around his shoulders and helped him stay sitting up. “You’re going to be okay, just try to breathe slowly, take deep breaths.”

Carlos shot him a look: seriously? “Would if I… could,” he managed in between coughs that made his whole body shake.

Evie rested her hand on his forehead for a second before pulling back with a wince. “This isn’t good, he’s burning up.”

“Guys, help,” Carlos tried to say, gasping for air.

“You’re going to be fine, I have more than enough magic for both of us,” Evie said, taking his hands, at the same time as Jay, rubbing his back: “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere, it’s okay, I’m right here.”

“I left my cellphone in my purse- I’ll call the ambulance,” Audrey gasped, springing to her feet. She wanted to just stay and watch Mal’s weakest sidekick suffer, but that probably wouldn’t be believable for her disguise. Even so, once she was back in her bedroom, she took her sweet time rifling through Mal’s purse for her lavender-glitter smartphone, and tried to guess Mal’s password a few times before hitting the EMERGENCY CALL button.

She gave the operator the address and a quick description of what was going on, hurrying back into the conference room as she heard “Stay on the line, we’ll be there soon.”

“Okay,” she replied, biting her lip. Mal cried so easily. She’d have tears in her eyes right now. Luckily, Audrey was a good enough actress to do the same.

Ben had taken all the cushions off the couch to prop Carlos up; Jay was texting frantically and one-handed, finger-combing Carlos’s hair. Evie hovered over him, a cool blue light between her fingers. “Is this helping?” she asked, her voice soft.

This poison was Audrey’s favorite because healing magic only made it stronger. If you didn’t banish the poison before casting, the healing magic would act on the flowers growing within the person’s lungs as well as their body. She hid a smile.

“Yeah, I-“ Carlos began, and then his gaze fixed on something behind Evie (something that wasn’t there.) He screamed and propelled himself frantically backwards, curling in on himself as another coughing fit descended. “Don’t let her get me,” he managed, voice hoarse and broken. “Guys, she’s really pissed off- Mom, please don’t roast me, please don’t feed me to the dogs, I’ll be better, I’ll be less of a fuckup, I promise- just stop, it hurts, it hurts-“

“I got this,” Jay said, his eyes glowing gold as he leaned in.

Carlos slapped his hands away and curled into an even smaller ball. “Don’t fucking touch me-“

Audrey just wanted to relax, keep her face in Mal’s wide-eyed and serious expression, and watch the way his entire body shook as he coughed. She had to be Mal, though. “Get here right the fuck now,” she said into the phone. “If he dies, you’ll regret it.”

“Yes, Your Highness. We’re pulling up in the driveway right now.”

A spray of gravel. Audrey hung up the phone. “They’re here!”

Even sick and hallucinating, Carlos could still throw a punch. By the time they got him strapped down on the stretcher, one EMT had a bloody nose, another a black eye, and Evie was cradling an injured wrist.

“Don’t let her take me,” Carlos said, his frantic gaze searching their faces.

“Would one of you like to ride with him?” one of the EMT’s asked.

Right, she knew this- Evie was more Mal’s friend, while Carlos was obviously Jay’s sidekick or something. “Jay,” she offered, gesturing.

With a nod, Jay hurried towards the stretcher; a few minutes later, the rest of the group stood outside watching the ambulance speed away.

“Shit,” Ben said quietly. Audrey had never heard him swear before. “Evie, didn’t we promise the sick kids you’re taking in that we’d all visit today?”

Evie bit her full lower lip. “Yeah. At least one of us ought to go, instead of watching over Carlos.”

“I’ll go. I mean, one of us needs to,” Audrey said. It was just the sort of thing Mal would say. She was always so obnoxiously self-sacrificing when anyone was watching, performing goodness for the sake of her reputation. The little hypocrite. Sure, she wanted to go to the hospital, but she had to keep this act up.

Someday, she wouldn’t have to pretend. It would be just her and Ben again, with no one to steal him from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway i'm titling all these chapters with song lyrics from tangled the series, elena of avalor, & sofia the first. enjoy some disney deep cuts!


	4. dance and watch the dying sunlight fade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> all ben, jay, and evie want is to be there for carlos. and to be alone with their thoughts. unfortunately, social media and fame and the press can be kind of terrible.

The doctors said he was stable. They said his blood-oxygen levels had normalized. They said they’d drawn some blood and were waiting for test results to come back, and what was his health insurance provider, and was there any family history of chronic illness?

The hospital gown they’d put on Carlos was about ten sizes too big for him. He looked skinny and pale. And the million monitors hooked up to his chest? Yeah, those didn’t help, either. Every time Evie looked, she wanted to close her eyes and be anywhere else. Finally, the doctors and nurses had filed out, leaving them alone with a sleeping Carlos.

Bzzzzt. The tell-tale noise of a phone vibrating in silence filled the room. Everyone instinctively reached for theirs. Evie unearthed her phone at the bottom of her red faux-leather purse and swiped in her password. “Oh. My. Gosh,” she said. “Hey, does anyone else have-“

“A lot of notifications?” Jay finished. “Yeah. Feels like everyone we know was trying to get in contact with us at once.”

It was a constant barrage of notifications; they all instinctively silenced their phones.

That was when they heard the other noise from the corner of the room: bzzzzt bzzzt bing bzzzt brrrrp-

Carlos’s phone, left in the front pocket of his skinny jeans, was just one solid whir of sound. Evie unlocked it- the password was some complicated mashup of all their names that had made Carlos chuckle to himself, a tangled mess of syllables that sounded like Dude spitting out something he’d been told not to eat- and tried valiantly to scroll through the ever-increasing notifications.

10:55. cammicogsworth (verified) posted on Bluebird: Just saw an ambulance out my window- think it’s coming from the royal chateau? hope @PrinceBenOfficial, @maldrawsstuff, @eviesfourhearts, @carlostandfound, and Jay (guy needs to get a Bluebird already!) are all OK.

11:00, a text from Aziz: hey so someone posted on Bluebird they saw an ambulance coming from Ben’s chateau, you okay?

11:13 @bibbidibobbidijane: hey C de V. cammi posted she saw an ambulance coming frm your place and the pic’s blowing up. my computer can’t even keep up w all the re-chirps. pretty sure it’s getting notes even faster than Ben’s promposal.

11:15, Lonnie texted: hey, heard about the ambulance- did the Pastel Rose attack again? hate them so freaking much 😠

The Pastel Rose were Audrey's extremist followers, the people willing to do anything to get a VK and her "puppet ruler" off the throne. They'd been behind a lot of evil plots. Evie hated them, too. 

Aziz, ten messages later at 11:30: ok so. you’re not picking up, none of the other VKs have their phones on, I can’t even reach Ben in the emergency-only royals group chat? wtf. hope you’re all safe

Jane, after a total of maybe eighty messages between Bluebird and texting, at 11:46:

Carlos Carlos CARLOS please pick up I can’t reach anyone

someone said they had photo of you & J getting out of ambulance????

if this is some kind of villain practical joke I will turn you into a frog

(and then, five minutes later:)

Carlos I’m sorry

I won’t turn you into a frog I didn’t mean it please just text me back, I’m really scared

Lonnie, after leaving a dozen messages, and even more times when she called and hung up, texted at noon: finally managed to get in touch with the palace. Apparently there’s “been an incident” and they’ll “update as more information becomes available” and I’m just like. o k a y ?????? WTF does that MEAN

There were so many more messages. She swiped to delete them at random, blinking to clear her vision. Looking at the phone was so much easier than looking at Carlos himself.

“I’m writing a chirp to get out in front of the rumors,” Ben said, standing up. “So far I’ve got ‘Hey all, Prince Ben here. Carlos collapsed earlier, but we’re sure the great doctors at Auradon General will have him back on his feet in no time. Otherwise, we’re all okay, and we appreciate your good wishes.”

Collapsed. The word softened circumstances in the retelling. Collapsed made it sound like he’d just tripped over his own feet or taken an accidental nap. But the reality of it- Carlos’s terror, the way he’d fought to breathe… Evie couldn’t imagine sharing the fear they all felt with the world. She glanced out the window and into the distance, wishing they could just hide in the chateau until all this was over.

That was when she noticed the well-dressed vulture flapping his wings to stay just outside the window. Instantly, she texted the group chat: being watched. Bird. Window.

The message popped up on Jay’s and Ben’s phones. Instantly, Jay shoved the window open, while Ben shot out a hand and grabbed the talking animal who’d been spying on them.

“Who’s this,” Ben said quietly, holding the vulture by the scruff of his neck. The bird wore a little grey suit jacket and somehow held a notebook and pen in his wings.

He looked familiar, Evie thought. Then it hit her. “Hey, I know that guy! He’s a reporter for the Corona Sun. That jerk who wrote about how Queen Rapunzel let herself go and stopped being pretty, right after her BFF sacrificed herself to take out the Moonstone. What, are you here to tell me I should be brushing my hair more, too?”

“People want to know about the VKs,” the vulture said with a shrug. “I’m just giving the public what they want.”

“Yeah, well, what we want is for you to get the hell out of here,” Jay said, crossing his arms.

“Just need you to confirm or deny a few rumors!” With a wild wingbeat, the bird burst free and started flapping around the room.

Evie tried to throw her pashmina shawl over him, but he was too quick.

“Squawk- is it true that your VK pals have been purchasing illicit pixie dust? Can you provide any comment on whether or not Carlos’s state is self-inflicted? Is this related to the mental health issues he’s been seeking treatment for in- hey!”

That last was because Jay, his reflexes impeccable as always, had jumped up and caught the vulture by a leg. “Never thought I’d meet a more annoying bird than Diablo, but you take the cake.” Despite irate cries of “freedom of the press” from the bird, Jay swung the vulture above his head before tossing it out the window and slamming it shut.

Evie would later learn that the notebook vulture had been intended as a distraction from the moth with the miniature camera, but for a moment, it felt like a reminder that they could win any battle, a sign that things were going to be all right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from a cut song from an early draft of The Emperor's New Groove 
> 
> ben and the vks totally have their pronouns in their Bluebird bios


	5. being royal means being loyal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in this chapter: audrey was a manipulative, controlling, and jealous girlfriend, and the villains were terrible parents. sprinkling the past-trauma saltshaker all over the place here. 
> 
> chapter title from the Sofia the First song "for one and all"

“I’m going to finish making clothes for the refugee kids today,” Evie said, her mouth a straight line as she got on her motorcycle. Ben reminded himself to text her that night- remind her to eat, remind her to sleep, because work was a good remedy for stress but not a replacement for self-care.

“If you want to talk, I’m here,” he told Jay.

They ended up sitting under the willow tree near the housing development’s lake. Watching the wind and puffy clouds, leaning against each other to share warmth in their windbreakers. The way the water stirred every time a goose burst into flight.

“This whole weekend has just sucked,” Jay said quietly after what felt like ages. “When we were checking on the Home for Lost Boys and Girls?”

And then Jay told him, while staring at the clouds, about what had happened.

How Cruella had sauntered down the street, her thugs shoving people out of the way of her clicking red-and-black high heels. Carlos gripping his hand tightly, half-hiding behind him. And Jay had wanted to be like: it’s okay, I’m strong, I can protect us both. But then she’d touched his face with a long fingernail and murmured, “Jay, darling. Your father is very much looking forward to seeing you again. Especially to welcoming you home.”

Jay had just grabbed Carlos’s hand and bolted. Not stopped until they were nearly at the barrier’s gate.

“I just…” Jay sighed, shaking his head. His eyes looked blank and hopeless. “I’m tired of wondering when our parents will find a way off the Island, or if someone will find a way to bring Maleficent back from being a lizard. I’m tired of wondering what Dad’s going to do to me, what he’s going to make me watch him do to everyone else. We already have Audrey to worry about, and… every day I look at the amazing life we’ve made here, and I wonder when it’s all going to be taken away. And sometimes I’m like- okay, do your worst. Just get it over with. Just let me know.” He slouched into a ball, resting his head on his arms.

Jay didn’t like talking about the past. None of the VKs really did. But he’d mentioned, once, that Jafar had been the sultan’s torturer as well as his vizier, and that even without his magic, he understood fire. He understood fear.

Once he’d seen Jay kneel next to a captured Pastel Rose member and casually, quietly name every bone in the man’s hands. And point out the best way to break them. The man had gone ashen and started weeping, begged to confess just so Jay would stop talking to him in that too-friendly tone.

“Where’d you learn that?” Ben had asked, feeling like he had to know, had to bear witness.

He’d smiled in a way that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Cracked his knuckles. “Where do you think?”

Jay was one of the most dangerous people Ben knew. It always made Ben nervous, seeing him this afraid. More than nervous- angry, twitchy, uncomfortable in his own skin. Like his teeth ought to have been longer so he could bite Jafar’s head off, like he ought to have claws just to rip out his guts.

“Hey,” Ben said quietly. “How okay are you with being touched right now?”

Jay’s arms muffled his reply. “Please.”

“I won’t let them hurt you,” Ben said, holding his hands. “Not Cruella, not your father, none of them. No matter how many times you go back to the Isle. I’ll keep you safe.”

The wounded hope in Jay’s eyes when he looked up… it was as if someone had just full-on punched Ben in the heart. “Yeah? You mean it?”

“I’d kill them first. Rip out the veins in their neck and pull their eyes out, I swear to god.” Even though Ben looked completely human, sometimes it was just so much simpler to think like a beast: this is Pack, this is Prey, end of. Completely human, and also completely something you weren’t allowed to do as king-elect. He winced inwardly, but the softest smile broke over Jay’s face. 

“When you say it like that, I believe you,” and then he was cupping Ben’s face and leaning in for a kiss, and then on top of him, the weight of his body impossibly warm.

“Hey, you,” Ben mumbled, kissing him. “Love you.”

“Love your dumb face.”

Across the yard, the back door slammed shut. Ben froze and glanced over.

The purple-haired woman on the porch wore an expression of rage and hatred and shock. Like she wanted to rip Jay’s eyes out just for looking at Ben. A tiny, unerring slice of instinct in the back of his head said, clamping down on panic: that’s not Mal.

His eyes met Jay’s, just the briefest look.

Jay nodded, the set of his jaw harsh and ready for battle. Like: yeah, this is fucked.

By the time they reached the back porch, Mal had composed herself. She was standing with her hands neatly clasped and good posture. (That should have been a fucking clue!)

“Hey, Mal,” Ben said casually, holding this person’s attention while Jay snuck up on them. “How was your visit?”

“I had a great time with the children.” (Children, not kids. Another difference.) “They’re totally-“

“Be silent, be bound, no movement, no sound,” Jay chanted, pointing at the Not Mal. His eyes shimmered gold, and thick golden chain snaked around Not Mal’s arms and feet, immobilizing them until they fell over.

“Ben, this is disgusting! Why are you letting him do this to me!” Not Mal wailed.

There were tears in the impostor’s green eyes, but they evoked zero sympathy. “Text Evie,” Ben said. “Tell her to bring the anti-magic-rope.”

She’d screamed and ranted for several minutes, but quieted immediately once it was clear that Ben didn’t believe in her disguise.

“Audrey,” Ben had said, taking a seat across from the chair she was securely tied to, both with Jay’s magic and the enchanted rope Evie owned. “You can drop the disguise. I’m impressed, but I know it’s you.”

A pink shimmer tinted the air, and there was a sound of bells. Then Audrey sat before him, looking irate and dignified in a poofy pastel dress, a pink diamond tiara perched atop her matching curls. Her satisfied expression held a smile and a sneer at the same time. “Well, I’ve gotten some satisfaction out of this. At least you’re cheating on your so-called queen the same way you cheated on me! Do you have any respect for anyone you claim to care about, or just a short attention span? I will absolutely have to lock you in a tower if this is how you treat your partners,” she said, tossing her hair.

He’d forgotten how incredibly exhausting Audrey was. When they were dating, she’d asked for his phone password so she could look through it, convinced him they should set up a joint Photogram account “so you don’t have to worry about looking single in your photos,” gotten him to keep location services turned on 24-7, and regularly called him in tears at two in the morning.

“Benny-boo, I have a lot going on in my life, okay? I need to know you’re faithful, I need to know you’re there for me, and when you’re late to our dates or you say you’re ‘out with friends’ and you don’t text back, I get worried,” she always said. “I need to know I can trust you. And that means you need to earn my trust.” Or “You’re acting so beastly and selfish right now. Why aren’t you considering the way I feel?”

The day when he could finally answer “are you cheating on me” with “No, I’m breaking up with you,” emboldened by Mal’s magic, was a huge weight off his shoulders. For the first time in years, he could put his phone on silent and sleep through the night.

Ben ran a hand through his hair and fought the urge to sigh. “Audrey, I’m not cheating on anyone. I’m in love with multiple people, who also love each other, and they’re all really happy for each other. Because people can love more than one person. That’s a thing.”

Audrey shook her head, condescendingly sad. “Poor Ben. You really need help.”

Evie’s expression didn’t change, but she pressed a button on her silver bracelet. A knife blade sprang out. “Tell us where Mal is and what you’ve done with her,” she said, circling Audrey. “Or you’ll be getting a long bob with uneven bangs and no layers.” To prove she was serious, she gave one of Audrey’s curls a tug.

“Oww,” Audrey whined. “Do your worst- I’m not telling you Isle brats anything! You may have taken me by surprise, but without Mal? My magic is stronger than yours. You can’t hurt me.”

Ben frowned and let his shoulders slump, pretending he was defeated. “You guys work on stopping those rumors about Carlos. I’m going to prepare some food for Audrey and try to negotiate,” he said glumly. But actually, he’d thought about this. It just meant he had to move on to Plan B. 


	6. can't believe my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Audrey's dueling schemes set the stage for a grand confrontation on the Isle of the Lost- but meanwhile, Mal and Carlos are running out of time...

Audrey had been tied up in the kitchen for a while when Ben came in with a plate of petit fours and an apologetic expression.

“We had some left over, and I know these’ve always been your favorite. Can I untie one of your hands so you can eat?”

“Yes, please,” Audrey said softly. She savored every moment their hands touched, and then the taste of her favorite food. Vanilla petit fours with pink icing? Glorious. In Auradon City and the Summerlands, especially the Castle Beast area, her supporters were few and far between; she couldn’t afford to waste a moment of their time on mundane tasks such as “snag me some desserts from my favorite bakery, because I’m pretty sure the chef was Ben’s friend, not mine, and will call the palace guard if I show up.”

Once she was queen, as was her right, life would be so much better. She could eat wherever she wanted. No one would dare refuse her service. (Ben wouldn’t refuse her anything.)

She thought about how much she loved the soft unaware shape of Ben’s face, and how she would cut off the fingers of everyone who’d touched it without her permission. Those little thieves.

And then her thoughts turned to Mal, and she couldn’t help but smile, lost in reverie and blissful dream.

Mal was apparently the result of a disastrous one-night-stand between deposed dragonfae nobility and a vaguely immortal boundary guardian of the underworld (snakes, fire, necromancy, gold.)

That combination meant she was a magical powerhouse- but it also meant she really didn’t cope well with cold. Between Halloween and May Day, Mal shivered through speeches and shook dignitaries’ hands with mittens on. Even in Camelot, she wore a giant puffy coat.

Oh, and of course Audrey’d seen what happened in Arendelle. It was all over the news; Mal swooning into her prince’s arms, parted lips tinged blue. Mal’s little clique hovering as she was carried to a waiting sledge, draped in Lady Evie’s blue velvet cloak.

But now there was no one to swoop in and save her, and the enchantments on the cuffs would keep her awake, too. Mal would be miserable, too cold even to shiver, and the water would probably be up to her waist by now at least. Maybe even her chest.

“You left her to drown,” Ben murmured, quietly horrified.

And that was when she realized that she’d been talking out loud. She’d thought that the petit fours had been an apology. A gesture of courtesy from one royal to another. Turns out even that politeness no longer held. “One of your VKs spelled the petit fours?” she couldn’t help asking, aghast.

Ben didn’t even seem to notice. “Okay. So she’s cold, so she’s drowning... anything else?”

“By the rules of the barrier, another Isle inhabitant can’t kill her. But there’s nothing to stop an Auradon resident from killing someone on the Isle of the Lost,” she heard herself say. (Good thing they hadn’t asked her about Carlos. They clearly seemed to think he just had some sort of ordinary infection.)

Ben sprinted out of the dining room where they were holding Audrey captive. “Evie, Jay! Mal’s underwater somewhere, or somewhere that’s flooding, on the Isle.”

“Ohthankfuck,” Evie said, practically collapsing against Jay; she’d never done a spell that powerful without Mal coaching her through it before.

Jay, an arm around her shoulders, frowned. “What should we do about... her?” Of course he meant Audrey.

Right. Because Audrey was their enemy. Even when she was trying to kill Mal, it still felt hard to wrap his head around: his childhood bestie, the woman he’d grown up with, had used the magic of a faerie artifact to become the leader of a political movement to restore a purely hereditary monarchy and crack down on the Isle. “We’ll leave the chalet on lockdown, I’ll leave a message for... Yen Sid, maybe. Or Zeus.” He couldn’t think of anyone else who had the sheer power to overcome Audrey in a magical duel. “Hopefully they can come and collect her.”

Poor Mal. She’d never learned to swim on the Isle, almost drowned on their first date, and had flat-out refused to put more than a foot in the lake ever since. She was probably panicking right now.

Mal had rescued him so many times- now it was his turn to rescue her back.

Ben always had more than one plan. Well, Audrey did too. And she’d made sure to place one of her followers among the castle guards. During an inexplicable failure of surveillance equipment- not that the chateau had much to begin with- Audrey somehow slipped her bonds. Odds were that anyone with magic would spend ages figuring out what spell she’d used to escape. But it hadn’t been a spell; it was just that she happened to be the true queen of Auradon, and people loved her for her beauty and purity and so forth. After all, you couldn’t be a protagonist without people rooting for you. A half-hour later. Now that the truth spell was wearing off, she could think clearly again. And she had faith in her plan once more. There were a maze of sea-caves around and beneath the Isle. With the barrier remnants still dampening Isle-dwellers’ magic, how could Ben and the VKs ever hope to find Mal in time? The best they could reasonably achieve was a body that didn’t need DNA testing to identify. But she’d set up a teleportation spell, sketching symbols on the roof of the cave. She could show up in an instant.Mal had no idea that Audrey’s scheme had been uncovered, no idea that Ben and the rest were searching the Isle.Mal had a giant, ridiculously obvious psychological weakness. If she was a machine, “I’m not good enough, so I should push people away before I hurt them” would be a big red button, with “Time to self-isolate!” being the big green button right next to it. Sure, maybe Mal had outgrown the scared teen who tried to steal a motorcycle and vanish amongst the Isle’s denizens, but that fear was still there.(Audrey felt the same way. She’d just decided to do something constructive and tear down her rivals.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title is from a song that was deleted from Hercules, and later replaced with "I Won't Say I'm In Love"


	7. don't let the stormy darkness pull you down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After escaping from the royal chateau, Audrey visits Mal.

Music drifted into the sea cave. Audrey, singing.

Music was the one kind of magic the barrier couldn’t stop, that everyone in Auradon was comfortable with. It was something no one could explain, from the sorcerer Yen Sid to the mainland Techies. Feel something strongly enough, and you’d just start singing. Dancing. Sometimes even dancing in other people’s musical numbers. At the time, it all made perfect sense. You knew the steps as if you’d spent weeks rehearsing them, harmonize flawlessly, and rhyme every line.

And then afterwards, you’d be like… what did I just do? What was I singing about? If someone else was singing about their secrets, no one else would remember a single thing.

Audrey, though? She clearly wanted Mal to hear every word. “Seize the good times- too bad they never last. Especially for an urchin with a questionable past!” Her slow, glamorous voice echoed off the cave walls, giving everything an eerie feeling- there was no way to tell where she was coming from. Pink smoke rolled off the rippling water as she pirouetted gracefully in, and the ocean parted so she could sashay across the sandy floor. “Oh, it’s such a thrill- oh, it’s such fun- to see my evil rival’s dreams turn into nightmares one by one. It’s such a lark- it’s such a joy- to roll up my sleeves and steal back the boy!” She posed in time with a musical flourish. “Mal, sweetie, have I told you that you put the captive in captive audience?” And she leaned in for a formal air-kiss on the cheek.

Big mistake. Because there was just enough slack for her to lean forward and sink her teeth into Audrey’s diamond-pierced ear.

Audrey said a very unprincessy word and zapped Mal with a burst of energy from the staff. It felt like a full-body bee sting, like all her muscles were asleep at once.

Worth it, though, she thought, catching her breath.

“So, Mal, how’s slowly drowning going? I’d say you have enough air to last you till sunset.”

“I’m fine,” Mal said stubbornly, although a shiver rippling through her body gave the lie to her words. The air was so damp that every breath was a struggle, and the icy water creeping up her body was a horrible, stinging pain, like acid eating away at her legs.

“Well, I have some good news! I’m doing a great job taking your place. In fact, everyone’s really proud of me.” With a wave of her hand, she conjured up memories for Mal to see.

Mal watched, helpless to do anything else.

Ben beaming, glowing with pride. “See, I told you you’d get the forks in no time! Now we move onto the spoons.”

Carlos grinning: “Wow, those flashcards I made really helped!”

The littlest refugee VKs clustering around a perfectly dressed Audrey as Mal, one girl saying in awe, “You look so pretty. I want to be just like you when I grow up!”

Evie, tears shimmering in her eyes: “You saved the day. I don’t know what would have happened to Carlos if it wasn’t for you… you’re the only reason he has a chance.”

Belle and the Beast on a video call: “That’s wonderful, Mal. We can’t wait to have you at our next royal banquet. Everyone wants to meet Auradon’s new queen-to-be.”

The visions vanished. Only Audrey’s proud smile remained. “You see, Mal? Unlike you, I’m not some unwanted street urchin. I was trained to be Auradon’s queen since childhood. I’ll never have to worry about how to address a baron of Arendelle, or what the proper protocol is for wearing gloves during wartime. No one knows you’re gone, or that you’ve been replaced. They just think you’ve finally gotten your act together. Face it: I’m better than you.”

Mal knew she should say something. Some fabulous comeback, some witty retort. But she couldn’t.

Because what Audrey said? She told herself things like that all the time.

Audrey wouldn’t be having a panic attack right now.

Audrey would know what earrings went with which necklace.

Every time she couldn’t cheer Ben up when his responsibilities as king-to-be stressed him out, every time she lost her temper and shot a smart remark at some well-meaning Auradonian, every time she had to run off and cry in the powder room because everyone was being so nice and the other shoe had to drop sooner or later, the same thought went around and around in her head like a shark circling a pirate ship: Audrey would have been able to cope with this.

“That’s right,” Audrey purred, as if she knew exactly what she was thinking. “Your father was an exile from Olympus, your mother was an exile from Faerie… and you? Just because Ben pitied you enough to fall in love with you, because he loves fixing the unfixable and taking on lost causes even when he knows it’s useless… you thought you could be queen of Auradon? A dream that ridiculous would never come true.”

Mal was cold and tired. She knew she would die here. But she couldn’t help but think about her friends.

Evie had dreamed of making a friend who cared about her for more than just her looks. Carlos had wanted to be seen as more than just the runt of the litter, to have someone actually notice how smart he could be. Jay had dreamed of having someone he could trust. And the four of them had granted each other’s most secret wishes without even trying.

Who was this perfect princess, this princess who had everything she’d ever dreamed of, to tell her that dreams didn’t come true?

The ice water may have put out her dragonfire, but a fire of hope still burned in her heart.

“Ridiculous,” Mal echoed. “Sure, I guess. As ridiculous as a servant girl being reunited with a prince because her shoe fell off. As ridiculous as a princess who’d been kept in a tower her entire life being brave enough to explore the outside world, or a mermaid rescuing one of the humans she’d been taught to hate. And definitely just as ridiculous as a peasant girl meeting the monster her village was scared of, seeing the goodness inside him, and falling in love! What do you think, Audrey. A street urchin becoming the High Queen of Auradon… more ridiculous than a candlestick turning into a butler, or more ridiculous than a firefly turning into a star?”

Audrey scowled and fumed and stamped her foot, finally bursting out with: “That’s different. They weren’t villains! They weren’t from the Isle of the Lost!”

“Uh-huh. Because you’re acting super heroic right now,” Mal drawled. Even if she couldn’t free herself, she could at least have the upper hand.

Audrey’s jaw clenched. She tossed her hair, then took an exaggerated deep breath to calm herself. “You know what? I was almost thinking of letting Carlos live. Saving his life at the last second, and basking in everyone’s undying gratitude. But now… well, I’ll be there to comfort the rest of your friends at their tragic loss. After all, I know how exactly how one should act at a funeral. And even in your body, I look lovely when I cry.” With that, she twirled around, vanishing in a puff of cotton-candy smoke.

The water lapped at the cave walls, rising slightly with every wave. Audrey would be able to take her place undiscovered for who knows how long, and do whatever she wanted to the Isle of the Lost. The victory that had seemed so meaningful a moment ago now rang hollow when she thought of what Carlos might be enduring right now.

But she wouldn’t give up. The potion Audrey had used to make her an ordinary mortal was wearing off… and even though the cold iron cuffs dampened her powers to little more than a spark, if she gritted her teeth and reached deep inside her soul, she could summon up a tiny bit of magic. Enough to keep her from freezing to death in the cold November ocean. Enough to buy her time, because she believed in those she loved.

Her teeth were chattering. Her heart pounded. She had to find something else to focus on… like the vintage music box Ben and Jay had picked out for her to play whenever she had nightmares. Although she didn’t need it as much these days, she could still remember the tune- and, as she hummed it, words came to mind. “Be brave, little one. Make a wish for each sad tear. Hold your head up though no one is near. Someone’s waiting for you.”

The air in the cave felt stifling and clammy. She didn’t have breath for more than those lines, but the music still swirled on, dancing through her mind as she fought for each second of access to magic. And she imagined she could hear her friends singing back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Audrey sings an altered version of "Humiliate the Boy," which is a cut Jafar-and-Iago song from Aladdin. Mal sings a verse of "Someone's Waiting For You" from The Rescuers. it's a gorgeous song and Dove would absolutely kill it.
> 
> Chapter title is a lyric from Candle on the Water.


	8. strange as a dream, real as the sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben, Evie, and Jay arrive at the Isle and team up with the Sea Three... but rescuing Mal might not be as easy as Ben expects.

On the drive to the Isle, Evie called Uma to say they were coming- she didn’t dare say anything else over the phone, as the Pastel Rose had tapped into their data networks before- and Ben called the Radcliffes.

The first time they stopped by the palace, Carlos had been majorly nervous around the people his mother had always talked about as “ruthlessly possessive” and “tamers of dangerous beasts.” He’d ended up hiding under the dining room table, with a protective Dude growling at anyone who came too close. “See these teeth? You will lose a finger- and I’m not afraid to call in the palace cats as backup if need be!” Dude warned Roger and Anita.

Then Anita had offered Duke a peanut-butter pupcake from the Tupperware in her handbag- and introduced Carlos to the teeny Dalmatian puppies she and Roger had brought for the kids to help socialize. From then on, they’d totally bonded. Carlos helped out at their dog sanctuary all the time. More often than not, he’d return to the palace with some baby animal that needed overnight bottle-feeding: puppies, kittens, once even a tiny raccoon. And he’d always have a great story about some family he’d talked into going home with the perfect rescue pet. Carlos was like the (human) child they’d never had. It felt so good to see one of his favorite people in the world be so uncomplicatedly happy.

“Carlos is really sick, and he was freaking out before he fell unconscious. He might wake up before we get back from the Isle- I don’t want him to be alone. I know this is short notice, but-“

“-could we visit him in the hospital? Of course. We’ll bring food, too. And we’ll update you if anything changes with his condition,” Roger replied.

Okay. One less thing to worry about, at least. Carlos would have someone to advocate for him and help him stay calm.

Uma and her pirate crew met them at the docks when they hopped off their motorcycles.

“Something tells me you’re not just visiting for a tea party,” Uma quipped, resting an elbow on Gil’s shoulder. She had a rapier strapped at her hip, and wore a chainmail vest over her swirling greatcoat.

“Mal’s in danger. Audrey’s been impersonating her- and she’s trapped here somewhere on the Isle,” Ben blurted out. Sure, Uma and Mal had argued a lot in the past. But he’d always known that beneath Uma’s hard-shelled exterior, she was loyal, honorable, and understood that Mal cared about the Isle of the Lost.

Evie nodded. “She said Mal was running out of time. That she only had a few hours left.”

Jay, pacing the deck boards: “Audrey doesn’t know as much about poisons as we do. She doesn’t know what being only mostly human would make Mal immune to or vulnerable to. So that rules that out. Maybe it’s something to do with where she’s being kept?”

Uma snapped her fingers. “That’s it! I saw a cloaked figure carrying a bundle to the sea caves last night, and felt a trace of magic. I assumed it was just a goblin, but it could have been Audrey carrying Mal.”

“She’d drown in the sea caves eventually,” Harry explained. “Entrance’s underwater this time of day, come to think of it. Shite.”

Ben let himself breathe. The pirate crew had come through. Now they just needed a way to get to Mal. “Do you have a boat that can go underwater, or could you cast some sort of air-bubble spell?”

He didn’t expect the way Uma’s face fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title is a lyric from the Little Mermaid musical! the song it's from, Her Voice, is absolutely Ben/Mal vibes. 
> 
> "Somewhere there's a girl  
Who's like a swell of endless music  
Somewhere she is singing  
And her song is meant for me..."
> 
> anyway in animated-movie-canon anita and cruella used to be BESTIES before cruella spiraled down into her fur obsession, and i think anita would be absolutely delighted to have carlos in her life. plus, anyone with that many dogs is going to need some help around the house for sure!


	9. mysterious fathoms below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal is doomed... or is she?

Uma went still. Something flickered through her mind. Fuck. She hoped she was wrong. “Guys,” she said quietly. “What day is it?”

“Eighth of November,” Harry said. He winced, staggering a step backwards, as if his own words had hit him in the chest like a cannonball. That was a mood. Whether or not Harry still loved Mal as a person, the Isle needed her as a queen. 

Uma’s legs gave out under her, and she fell to the boards of the docks. Her boys were beside her in an instant; Harry draping his greatcoat about her shoulders, Gil ready in case she needed a hand with standing up.

Evie bit her lip, and Jay’s jaw clenched tight.

“What?” Ben said. He looked from one hurt-furious-sorrowful face to the next. Shifted from foot to foot, innocent and confused in a way that squeezed Uma’s heart even tighter. “You guys, what is it, what’s wrong?”

Uma wasn’t saying shit. He was her friend (hot nemesis’ hot boyfriend who said nemesis had lowkey dared her to make out with? Long story,) but he was a king. Kings had the power to shoot the messenger whenever they felt like it.

Evie, fighting back tears, was the first one brave enough to venture an answer. “The eighth of November is when the tides are highest. Even if Mal’s in one of the caves closest to the surface… we’ll never get there fast enough to save her. Not even with magic,” she finished, sobbing as she flung her arms around a barely-stoic Jay, who clung to her just as fiercely, silent and trembling.

Mal… gone? Uma refused to believe it. Couldn’t even picture it. Mal had always been so wildly, vibrantly alive. She threw herself into every action and feeling one hundred percent, as if nothing more mattered than that moment. Although they argued often- they were driven by the same urge to lead and protect- she’d grown to cherish how devious Mal could be, how brilliant, how much she cared. How badly she wanted to do the right thing. How Auradon’s citizens could only hope to be worthy of her. So gentle and so fearless, all at the same time. And that wasn’t even getting to the personal feelings simmering underneath, because personal wasn’t the same as important when you had to rule.

Once, a world without Mal had been all she wanted. But a world without Mal would actually suck.

She held out a hand. Gil caught it and effortlessly lifted her to her feet.

“So you think just because the tide’s coming in, Mal’s doomed?” She waited until Evie had lifted her tearstained face, until Jay had opened his eyes, until Ben had turned around, his gaze fixed on her. “Fun fact: I am the tide. I mean, what kind of sea witch can’t control the sea?”

“You can do that?”

“Just watch me.” Was she as confident as she sounded? Nope. But a good leader knew when to give her people hope. She walked to the edge of the dock and started to sing. At first it was just a wordless melody that twisted around itself, rippling up and down the scale. Then words came to her, strong as a storm. “Sea of water, sea of sand, turn around at my command. Sea of moonlight, sea of tides, by my will you shall abide!” Her voice rose, the power built, and she flung out her arms.

One moment, the ocean was moving. The next, it froze. All the way to the horizon, the water was as smooth as glass. Only a breeze made the surface ripple.

Holy shit. She had actually done it. She’d stilled the ocean.

A split-second glance back at Mal’s gang. They were staring. While she wanted to bask in their admiration- yeah, she was magical AF! She could do this!– this was totes not the time. Turning her concentration back to the sea, she gave them orders. “Jay, pick the lock on Commander Rourke’s submarine. She’s seaworthy- she can get you down through the caves and back up- Ben, it shouldn’t be too different from your motorcycles. Evie, you should be able to trace Mal’s magical essence as soon as you’re close enough.”

Ben hesitated. “Is that-“

“Safe? No,” Jay replied breathlessly. “So we need to go, now.” He and Evie tugged Ben away from where he was watching, mesmerized by magic. They all started to run.

For a moment Uma’s control blurred. She felt the full force of what she was trying to bring to heel and wavered, as if standing on the edge of an abyss. All that power. All those waves. The sheer weight of it. Sand made from fossils ten million years old.

Fuck you, she thought, and squeezed her shell amulet so hard her fingers shook. Mal was her nemesis. Hers to scowl at, hers to mess with, hers to generously allow to live. And no pastel princess from Auradon had her permission to take that away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from a Little Mermaid musical song!   
uma and mal are absolutely pining for each other but admitting it wouldn't count as Winning


	10. keep 'em guessing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben, Jay, and Evie are on their way to steal a submarine to rescue Mal when they run into someone unexpected.

Ben could sneak around the Isle, when he wanted to. He could look like an Isle kid, head down and shoulders tense, light on his feet. (It was just sometimes very strategically important to allow yourself to be taken hostage… not that anyone except Mal believed him when he tried to explain that.)

When Hades strode out of an alleyway, though, Jay and Evie froze as well. Even Isle kids weren’t used to seeing Hades in broad daylight like this.

“Hades, we don’t want any trouble,” Ben said. He made sure his hands were where Hades could see them- and away from the hilt of his rapier. “Mal’s in trouble. We’re just trying to get to the docks so we can get a boat to help.”

Hades raised an affronted eyebrow. “Trouble? Moi? Well, wouldn’t you know it, I came to help.” He continued talking, swaggering closer. “Here’s a thing about dragons: they’re dry clean only. As in, they don’t do water. So when you find Mal? She might be in pretty bad shape. That’s where this comes in.” A tiny glass bottle on a thin silver chain dangled from his outstretched hand.

Ben eyed it suspiciously. Sure, Hades had never gone out of his way to hurt him or Mal or any of the VKs... but he was literally on the Isle for trying to murder his nephew. And a bunch of other people. Like, a lot. “What is it?”

Hades rolled his eyes in an expression that clearly meant, ugh, kids these days. “It’s called ambrosia. You know, food of the immortals, brought to Olympus by doves, served by Zeus’s latest boy toy? The nectar of the gods?”

“Okay,” said Ben, who had no idea what Hades was going on about.

Hades shoved the vial into Ben’s grasp, squeezed his fingers closed around it. He leaned in, his eyes like icicles, his gaze sharp enough to pierce. “She’s only half divine, so give her half the vial, tops. Maybe it smells like honey- but it’s not. You guys, you mortals? Not. A. Drop.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ben said, trying not to let fear show.

Isle inhabitants, and their direct descendants, couldn’t die on the Isle. They couldn’t kill each other on the Isle. The magic of Chernabog contained- the magic of the barrier- was keyed to blood.

Ben, though?

He could die here. Normally it didn’t matter; his subjects on the Isle needed him as much as the people in any other kingdom of Auradon. Now, all he could think of was fuck, this guy could snap my neck.

But Hades just nodded, patted Ben on the shoulder, and headed away.

Just as they’d all begun to relax, though, Hades whirled around. “Oh, and one more thing, your royal furball, His Mangey Majesty,” he said, jabbing a finger in Ben’s direction. “I hear the slightest rumor about a heir to the throne one minute prior to nine months after the wedding? Well, I’ve got a three-headed dog on the outside. One word from me and he’ll bite off your face. You respect my daughter, or that’s it!”

Ben wanted, inexplicably, to laugh. (The situation wasn’t like that at all. For one thing, depending on how you defined sex, that honor would go to either Evie or Jay- and for another thing, Mal had been the spearhead of a methodical plot to seduce _him._) But the same nerves that prompted giggles also snapped his body into the muscle memory of royal protocol; a slight bow and a “Yes, sir.”

That seemed to satisfy Hades, and he headed out of the alley for real.

Jay breathed out. Evie’s perfect posture relaxed infinitesimally.

“Is Hades always this... uh...” Ben tried to figure out how to finish the sentence.

“Weird? Beats me. This is literally the second time I’ve ever seen him come out of his cave,” Evie replied with a shrug.

Even on a drizzly November evening, the tiny glass bottle Hades had give him still shone like a piece of moonlight in his palm, glinting when he tilted it. “Do you think we can trust him?”

“Well... it’s not like we know anything about what medications work on dragon-demigod hybrids. It’s worth keeping, at least,” Jay admitted reluctantly.

(Regular meds didn’t really work for Mal, and even referencing the high faerie’s system of flower medicines was a crapshoot in terms of side effects. Meanwhile, the dragonfae were either allied with Audrey and the Pastel Rose, or too preoccupied with their reputations to involve themselves with the “scion of an exile” and “merely mortal royalty.”

Which, okay. One day he’d figure out how to bribe them, though.)

Evie cast a quick enchantment on the vial so it wouldn’t break in Ben’s zipped-closed jacket pocket, and they continued heading towards the docks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "keep 'em guessing" is a cut song from Mulan! the lil dragon dude was going to sing it. 
> 
> this is a short chapter but i've got a lot written & will post another update soon!


	11. a rogue, a thief, a joker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We catch up with Carlos- and Dude- back in Auradon.

Carlos was alone in his hospital room, just the soft beeping and whooshing of machines keeping him company. He’d tried to go on his phone, but he kept fading in and out of consciousness. Forgetting what he was typing halfway through a URL, or coughing so hard he dropped his phone. It really sucked.

If only the squad was here with him. Or he was home with them. That would be great.

Mal would hum a spell gentle as a lullaby and dial the pain down like a lightbulb on a dimmer switch, then waft a mega-fun dream of bouncy castles and baby squirrels into his brain to whoosh the nightmares away.

Evie would duck into the kitchen and reappear with a tray of soup. It would be warm and feel amazing sliding down his throat, with just the right ratio of chewy stuff to sippable broth.

Ben would be able to distract him. He’d tell some wild story from Auradon’s history, eyes alight and grin sparkling, and before long, Carlos wouldn’t even notice how much his chest hurt when he laughed.

Jay would climb into bed with him, radiating safety, radiating warm. He’d be there for Carlos when the visions rose up again like a poisonous fog, rubbing his back, reminding him that Cruella couldn’t hurt him anymore: “I’m here. I’m right here. You’re okay.”

He wouldn’t have to stay awake and try to remember all the medications he was already on, keep track of when the nurses had last been around, of who his attending physician was, what tests they’d drawn blood for already, if he’d traveled to X kingdom within Y number of months.

Someone who could ask the nurses to check if his oxygen was working, because even though they’d switched from the nose-tubes to a mask, it didn’t feel like he was getting enough air.

Breathing? LOL, nope. Not happening, not really.

If only this was a normal cold or something. He could be at home (at the chateau, because wherever his partners and puppy were, that counted as home) in his own soft, warm bed. No, on the couch. Ben and Jay would be watching sports with the sound turned down, Evie twining around him like another blanket, Mal on the carpet murmuring to herself as she flipped through her flashcards. And Dude, chewing on one of his favorite bones. Nothing bad could happen to him, surrounded by the people he loved and who loved him.

Alone, though?

Anything could happen. That freaked him out.

The door swung open; Carlos tensed, grabbing the blanket as if it was a weapon.

“Hey, buddy!” Dude said, zooming in and jumping onto the bed. “You smell freaked out, favorite human, but we’re here now.”

“We” included the Radcliffes, along with Dude’s twin one-year-old Dalmatian sidekicks, Paisley and Finn. Paisley and Finn thought that Dude was the coolest ever. They tried to copy everything Dude did, even though they were already a lot bigger than him.

“Hey, sweetheart. How’re you feeling? Not great, from what Ben told us.” Anita said, untangling the puppies’ leashes.

“Yeah,” he said, hoping sickness would excuse how hoarse his voice sounded. “Not super great.”

Robert tutted by his bedside. “Poor kiddo. Would some pain meds help?”

“Absolutely.”

“In that case, we’ll talk to the doctors, figure out what we can get you. Okay?” He didn’t mind that Carlos was sick in the middle of the work week, or that the other VKs couldn’t be there to look after them- just was ready to roll up his sleeves and take charge of the situation, like driving all the way down to Auradon General was no trouble at all.

“Yeah,” he managed.

“Be right back,” Roger said. He brushed a stray swoosh of hair of Carlos’s sweaty forehead with a fond chuckle before leaving the room.

“They’re good people,” Dude whispered, wet nose snuffly against his ear.

“Great people,” Carlos agreed, and buried his face in Dude’s fur so the Dalmatian puppies wouldn’t see him get all teary.

At first, he’d been freaking terrified of Roger and Anita. but they hadn’t minded him being scared, just gained Dude’s trust with snacks and waited for him to trust them as well. They didn’t think he was automatically like his mother or worry that he’d be a bad dog owner, like so many of the people on campus.

They were like... parents, or at least the Auradon idea of parents. Adults who cared about him and wanted him to grow up the best he could be, even if he wasn’t always the bravest or most convenient kid to have.

And Paisley and Finn? The puppies were fierce. Even if Audrey herself showed up, they’d still go for her ankles. They were a matched pair of guardians in front of the door as Anita worked on her knitting. (The current project- purrito blankets for orphaned neonatal kittens.)

Carlos flailed around until he found the tissue box on the nightstand. When he blew his nose, Anita looked up. “Everything okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” With Dude snuggling in his arms, he could say those words and almost believe them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paisley and Finley are the names of the two dogs who play Dude in the movies- they're Brussels Griffons and sisters!  
Chapter title is from a Tangled: The Series song. 
> 
> cruella is a horrible parent and carlos wanting Jane to meet her in d3 made no sense whatsoever, just sayinnnn


	12. i walk and the wind seems to guide me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben, Evie, and Jay search the sea-caves beneath the Isle of the Lost. Mal could be anywhere- how will they find her in time?

“Do you guys sense her?” Ben asked again. He kept picturing what kind of trouble Mal might be in; there was a vivid mental image of Mal shackled by her wrists, her head tilted upwards as she struggled to remain in the diminishing air pocket, her green eyes filled with frightened tears.

Jay had picked the submarine’s lock, Evie knew how to hotwire it, and Ben could drive anything. It had been smooth sailing so far. But now, they’d come to a fork in the sea caves. If they went the wrong way, they could lose a lot of time.

Jay concentrated, one hand pressed against the submarine wall. “I don’t know. When I’m trying this hard, I can always get some sense of Mal. Even back on the island. Whatever Audrey used to cancel her magic… it’s completely worked. My power can’t reach hers at all.”

Ben swallowed and tried to remind himself to breathe. This wasn’t the time to panic, and it absolutely wasn’t the time to have a sad musical number. The song playing in his head was a mood, though. (I’ll never shake away the pain, I’ll close my eyes but she’s still there…)

Evie put a hand on his shoulder, and the violins stopped. “Ben, what about you? I mean, you told us that you’ve dreamed of Mal for basically your entire life. She’s had dreams about you, too. Even with the barrier. You have a connection with each other that nothing can block.”

Jay sat in the copilot’s seat. “Yeah. Try clearing your mind and just trying to reach her.”

Clear your mind. Yeah, that was way easier said than done. Still, it was worth a try. He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and concentrated on Mal.

Suddenly, the image that kept popping into his head was a moving picture. Humid salt air filled his nose as waves splashed. It felt like he was in the cave with her. Inside his daydream.

He could see every detail: the way her wet hair clung to her shoulders, the blue tinge to her lips, the way salt and sobbing had stung her eyes.

The light of hope came into her exhausted expression. “Ben?” she called, looking around. “I don’t know how, but…I feel like you’re here with me. Am I dreaming or have I finally snapped?”

“I’m really here,” he thought, and heard the words echo around the cave as if he’d said them. “Had to use a truth spell on Audrey to find out your location, otherwise we would have been here way sooner.”

“Wait, where are you? I can’t see you-” Then a wave that must have gotten through Uma’s mental barriers smashed against her, splashing her mouth and nose. “Mmmph-“ She coughed weakly, trying not to hyperventilate. “Audrey’s pretending to be me, she’s poisoned Carlos. I’m hoping my magic’s strong enough to save him…”

Poison. That was a new fact- and proof that his connection to Mal wasn’t just in his imagination.

“Mal, don’t worry. Uma’s holding back the tides, and we’re on our way to save you. Just say strong and don’t give up. We all love you so, so much.”

“Okay,” she whispered, and “Love you guys too.”

In that moment, he knew what Mal was thinking about. How much she wanted to protect all of them from Audrey, how something in the world had changed the first time she met Ben. Like a time-lapse video of a flower blossoming. The temptation to bask in the sunlight of his genuine smile; the inexplicable knowledge that they’d met before, if only once upon a dream, and how it felt like they’d known each other forever.

And in that moment, he knew exactly where she was.

With cold iron locked around her wrists and her air running out, Mal wasn’t strong enough to keep the connection open for any longer, but it had been all he needed. “Okay, guys!” he shouted. “We need to go left!”

Evie took the controls from him, piloting flawlessly through the narrow spaces. “Gotcha. Now what?”

“Up, then right, then down, then up again!”

With each swerve they made through the tunnels, he could feel they were getting closer to Mal… even though he couldn’t quite feel Mal as strongly anymore, or even see her in his mind. He just hoped they wouldn’t be too late. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title is a cut song from Cinderella!


	13. if you'd like a life of plunder, if you'd care for blood and thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's smooth sailing for Uma and the pirates... until Audrey shows up.

The sea was quiet and still. Glass all the way out to the horizon, all the way to Auradon. Even though it was November, sweat rolled down the back of Uma’s neck.

Harry paced the deck, twirling his cutlass. Everyone was on watch, wary. “How you holding up, captain?”

“Mmm-hmm,” she said absently. It was like trying to balance on a slack rope, or touching hot fryer oil without flinching. She couldn’t let anything distract her.

That was when a cloud of pink smoke burst. It slowly cleared: thorny vines as thick as tree trunks, roses the size of takeout plates. Audrey, balanced on plant tentacles the way Uma could use her kraken limbs, scowled at everyone. “Where is Ben? Where’s my boyfriend?”

“Fuck off,” someone shouted back at her, to a chorus of agreement.

“Fine,” Audrey said, pouting. “Uma, I know what you’re doing- and if you’re going to put your crew in harm’s way to protect you while you hold back the tides, that just means it’ll take me a little longer to get to you.”

Gil swung down from the rigging. “FIGHT!” he yelled. Everyone rushed to battle positions.

Maleficent’s staff had given Audrey unbelievable power. Even as she was rampaging across the docks in her plant-beast form, effortlessly ripping through ship after ship, hurling chunks of wood down at them with her vines, she fought Uma for control of the sea.

Except… they were losing. Majorly. Audrey had an unlimited number of rose vines and poisonous flowers. When one was hacked off, zip! Right away, she grew a new one.

One by one, her crew was getting hurt. When a giant vine shook the whole ship, everyone fell.

Even if her crew was down and out, with only her and Harry strong enough to fight, she’d promised Ben as much time as she could give him. She thought of his soft, befuddled face, his quiet refusal to accept Mal was dead.

And Mal? She wasn’t perfect, but she was a fighter. She fought for the people of both Auradon and the Isle. Uma had to give her time to fight for her life, too.

“Surrender the sea witch, and maybe I’ll let a few of you live. I mean, what’s an empress without a good fleet of privateers?”

All around the deck, people were struggling to recover from Audrey’s attack. Ripping thorns from their hands and arms, reaching around for weapons, limping to their feet.

She could trust her crew, even when they were outgunned, outmanned, their backs against the wall. Outplanned by a princess with a grudge even bigger than her castle. Even when her connection to the sea felt unsteady, she could trust her crew.

They wouldn’t abandon her just because she’d shown a moment of weakness.

Right?

Gil made it to his feet first. He scraped his sword along the deck rhythmically. A pirate who could barely move rolled a cannonball to another, who shoved it into the cannon and swiveled it to aim.

“Let’s go,” Gil called, gathering strength, using the mast to prop himself up. Sounds seemed to fit together: the slap of the waves against the hull, the rustle of Audrey’s vines. Everything slotted into the cadence of the crew’s war-chant. He just needed to make sure everyone else heard it too. “You want a war? We’ll give you what you’re asking for.”

Desiree staggered to her feet; swayed, but stayed standing. “Think you’ll come and take the crown? Just you try- “

“You’re going down!” the crew shouted as one. 

Audrey had knocked them out of the fight, rattled them, hurt them. But she couldn’t keep them down. They tossed each other fallen swords and swung on loose ropes. Two pirates cartwheeled into action, using the ripped shreds of a sail to tangle Audrey’s thorny vines. 

The sea’s rhythm fit with their warsong, Uma thought. The way CJ and Desiree screamed her name- half inspiration, half taunt- matched the wild pounding of her heart.

“Come on, Uma.” Audrey called, swaying atop her vine-tentacles as she circled the damaged boat. Harry tried to keep himself between Uma and danger, even though he was breathing hard.

Swords clashed with thorns as the pirates jumped from deck to dock, fighting for their very lives. Uma was fighting, too. It was as if Audrey had a vine wrapped around her neck, and she was just waiting for the last gasp to leave her lungs. Her concentration wavered. It was so hard to focus on anything besides the steadily building pain. Like hot oil searing her sensitive gills. Like a burst of angry-Mal dragonfire straight to the chest. 

Audrey didn’t even seem to be breaking a sweat. “I know you’re faltering. Give me control of the ocean… give me my kingdom.”

Harry dropped to one knee beside her. “Is it true?”

“I’m fine,” she said automatically, even as the pain of Audrey’s magic wrenched at her like thorns piercing her skin. The immensity of Audrey’s power felt wrong. It was like the moment when your stomach roiled and you realized you’d eaten spoiled food. Like swimming into a whirlpool and feeling yourself swept down into the depths, suddenly helpless. Like when she thought she’d be trapped behind the barrier forever, cut off from her magic, the horizon always out of reach.

Maybe the tide was too strong for her. Maybe she could just give up and drift… 

“Uma. You don’t have to do this alone,” Harry murmured, khol-lined eyes serious. “Whatever you need from me, take it.” He grabbed his hook, tugged, opened his hand to reveal a welling cut across his palm.

Harry didn’t have magic. Most people didn’t. But everyone had lifeforce. Everyone had a soul. Everyone had something that a magic-user could steal to power spells… something that could be given freely, too.

She blinked up at him, uncomprehending. “Harry, if I’m not careful, I could end up killing you.” Why would he just let her take something so important?

Their faces were so close. When he spoke, she felt his breath. “Good thing I trust you with my life.”

Then he took her hand and rested his forehead against hers, and she felt his power rush into her veins. It hit her all at once, like a cold wave slapping her legs. Not his strength- she’d known about that- but the sheer intensity of how much he loved.

All this time, she’d assumed Harry flirted with her the way he flirted with everyone else. (Well, everyone except Gil.) As a joke, as a game.

But he said Uma and meant I love you. He said Captain and meant I would die for you. He threatened her enemies because any fight was worth it if it meant seeing her smile.

Audrey shrieked with rage, dredged up memory after memory from the depths of Uma’s mind and hurled them at her like cannonballs. The time a rival had tried to drown her, the time her mother had forced her to burn herself on the chip shop’s fryer. Useless. Ungrateful. Shrimpy little brat.

“You’ve got this,” Harry murmured. Blood dripped onto the deck when he squeezed her hand. He was the glistening rocks and she could be the sea, crashing against him, knowing he’d catch her every time. His touch was like cool water against singed skin. 

In his nearness, she could breathe. She could push back against Audrey and gain some ground. Let that prissy princess throw anything at her; she was in a bubble of peace, feeling perfectly safe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title is from "the pirate song," a deleted song from Peter Pan!


	14. my crew of faithful hands, my trusty pirate band

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gil takes the fight to Audrey.

Above the ship, dark storm clouds swirled. The weather was responding to their magical battle. Rain poured down and soaked the pirates; Audrey’s tulle-and-rhinestone dress remained pristine.

A quick look told him that Harry had Uma. He was protecting her, bearing the weight of her power, of the ocean. It was his job to be strong and guard these two people he loved so much. To protect them both. “Let’s make this plant walk the plank!” Gil called, dodging a vine that took a chunk out of the mast. That was when he stumbled over his bow, which he’d dropped earlier. Still strung- and with an unbroken arrow left in the quiver! Audrey could see cannonballs coming and swipe them out of the air, but an arrow… it was small enough to go unnoticed.

Okay. So his father was a shitty human being who’d driven his mother off and slapped him around growing up for not being tough enough, who still punched his lights out on the regular for taking orders from a girl. But Gaston had done one thing right. He’d made sure all his sons could shoot.

A moving target? In a thunderstorm? From the deck of a wildly swaying pirate ship, with a black eye and a sprained wrist, while vines shot from all directions at once, forcing everyone to constantly dodge? Compared to the training his father had put him through?

Piece of cake.

“I got you,” Desiree shouted. She swung across the deck in front of him, swiping at vines that tried to disarm him.

He nocked the arrow and pulled his arm back. Focused on a single lock of blue hair amidst Audrey’s magenta curls until everything else- the noise of the sea, the battle cries of his friends, a distant drumbeat- faded away. Finding his anchor point, holding his stance…

Gil loosened his fingers. The arrow flew. He couldn’t see where it went, not in the storm-

Audrey screamed, touching where the arrow had sunk into her cheek. “My face- my perfect, beautiful, royal face! You stupid pirate, I’ll get you for that!”

“Gil, run!” Harry called.

He scrambled up the mast, grabbed a rope, and swung onto the closest ship- just as a deadly spiked vine smashed right where he’d been standing.

Whatever Gil had done, Uma thought, it made her job much easier. The horrible pressure in her head was gone, and she could breathe without feeling like her lungs were filling with water.

Wait. Where was Audrey- and where was Gil? She tried to stand up, to look for him. What if he needed her help?

“Uma, if we let go of the ocean now, anyone in the sea caves will be crushed to death,” Harry said.

He was right. It took all of her concentration to shout out an order: “Keep Audrey off-balance! Use any weapons you can find- don’t let her get a clear shot at Gil!” Then all she knew was the ebb and flow of her magic, and Harry’s steadying hand on the small of her back.

Audrey kept thrashing out at Gil with her vines. She launched sharp thorn projectiles that flew past him and stuck deep in walls.

Okay. Going sideways didn’t work- what about up? He quickly scaled the rigging of the ship he was on. Audrey swiped at him again, but just grazed his feet. “Uma!” he yelled, pulling himself up into the crow’s nest. “I think I’m-“ Safe, he was going to say. Then the mast beneath him cracked, and the crow’s nest tilted wildly, throwing him off. He caught the railing just in time.

“Hah!” he yelled at Audrey. “You can’t catch me! No one runs away like Gil!”

He waited for Audrey to turn her human body, suspended over the vines, and shout some retort.

That was when the vine that had been crawling slowly upwards behind him sank thorns into his neck- and hurled him headfirst to the deck of the ship. Wood splintered under his skull. Pain exploded sudden as a gunshot behind his eyes.

Uma, he thought. Harry. And: at least he’d tried.

Uma's scream of rage and sorrow was as loud as thunder, echoing over the raging sea. She couldn't keep it still anymore. All that mattered was hurting Audrey, driving her back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> grad school is a LOT but i've got enough chapters written that i should be able to update pretty regularly through to the end of the fic!!!


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